Not only is a design fee of $949 pretty high, but they're also upcharging significantly for the components they're placing. They charge $20 for an ESP32, for instance; the modules are $2.99 at Digi-Key.
Where are you seeing them on Digi-Key? The Microcontrollers section[0] only has other μCs with 32 in the name, and I couldn't find anything other than devkits.
Ah—DuckDuckGo took me to a search page that included every category except RF Transceiver Modules.
I was hoping for something more along the lines of Seeed's Fusion PCB/PCB assembly service where you could get a quick prototype board with parts from a list of available components. I'm impressed by Sparkfun's software though and I hope that as the service evolves it gets cheaper.
Note: They are offering a 50% discount on the design fee through the end of this year. The discount code is on their web page.